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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Virtual Cookie Exchange

This virtual cookie exchange is hosted by Tracy/Gothic Butterfly, click here to see all the recipes.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

A simple cookie whose resemblance to a snowball makes them a fun holiday cookie. They're fragile, so handle them gently when you roll them in the powdered sugar.

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, plus more as needed

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (you can use hazelnuts, pecans or almonds)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Use an electric mixer to beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add 3/4 cup of confectioners' sugar and cream together.

Combine the flour, salt, and chopped nuts in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the dough and beat until just combined. Stir in vanilla.

Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or as long as 2 days (or wrap very well and freeze indefinitely).

Heat the over to 350 degrees. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and bake on ungreased baking sheet until the tops are just turning brown and the bottoms are golden brown, 10-12 minutes.

Put the remaining confectioners' sugar in a pie plate or shallow bowl. Cool the cookies on the sheets just enough so you can handle them; use a spatula to transfer them in batches to the plate of sugar. Roll each cookie in the sugar until coated and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Roll them in sugar again once cooled. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for no more than a day or two.